Staff Reporter :
Violence erupted between Jatiya Party (JaPa) activists and police during a workers’ rally outside the party’s central office in Dhaka’s Kakrail. Police intervened with baton charges, tear gas, and sound grenades to disperse the crowd, shortly after 3:30 pm on Saturday.
Ramna Division Deputy Commissioner Md Masud Alam said, “The rally blocked the entire road. We initially asked them to move to one side, but they ignored the request and continued their demonstration.”
Confirming the use of tear gas, he added around 4:15 pm, “They left about half an hour ago, and the situation is now under control.”
The JaPa faction organized the rally with several demands, including the withdrawal of what they described as “false cases” against their chairman GM Quader and other party members, the release of detained activists, and the call for a free, fair, and participatory election.
Party leaders, including Quader and Shameem Haider Patwary, attended the event, which was held on a temporary stage mounted on a truck. A substantial police presence had been deployed in anticipation, as activists began arriving in small processions from noon.
Witnesses said tensions flared at one point between police and the rally participants. To control the situation, law enforcement resorted to batons, tear gas, and sound grenades. The rally concluded peacefully after the activists left the area, and no injuries have been reported.
The party’s internal conflict, now increasingly public, centers on the decision over participating in the upcoming national election. Quader organized the workers’ rally amid factional disputes regarding the party’s electoral symbol – the “plough.”
